Long Beach day care center slapped with violations

A city-run child care facility was issued eight violations in July, including one for the corporal punishment of a child by an employee who was subsequently fired, and another for failure to report such an incident to the state.

According to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Magnolia Child Care Center, at 650 Magnolia Blvd., was hit with the violations on July 31 during an inspection by the agency following a complaint. All of the violations have since been corrected, according to the state and the city, and OCFS said that it was satisfied with the actions taken.

The Child Care Center serves 27 children and is run by the city’s Department of Youth and Family Services. It offers programs licensed by the county and state, and employs 14 day care workers, a director and two kitchen workers, as well as administrative, clerical and maintenance staff. It is one of two child care programs in the city — day care at the Martin Luther King Center has been closed since Hurricane Sandy, and children from that program are enrolled at Magnolia.

Corporal punishment is defined by the state as spanking, slapping or twisting, but the Office of Children and Family Services declined to provide details about the incident. It also said that in accordance with Social Services law, the Child Care Center was required to report any suspected incidents of child abuse or maltreatment, either as an incident of discipline or otherwise, but failed to do so.

The OCFS also cited the facility for a lack of “competent, direct” supervision and available staff to promote the physical, intellectual, social, cultural and emotional well-being of the children.

A document listing the violations states that discipline must be administered in a way to help children develop self-control and assume responsibility for their actions through “clear and consistent” rules, and that the staff must use acceptable techniques and approaches to help solve problems and must be familiar with the regulations governing day care programs.